1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display method and display control device for displaying, in accordance with a visual field from a set viewpoint, data objects situated in a three-dimensional virtual space.
2. Description of Related Art
Computers connected to networks, such as the Internet for example, are capable of retrieving massive amounts of diverse information. In addition, as the capacity of storage media increases, even stand-alone information machines have become able to utilize vast amounts of diverse information.
In order to make use of such large amounts of diverse information, GUIs (graphical user interfaces) that employ a desktop metaphor, such as Microsoft Windows™ are being used, as are web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer™ and Netscape Navigator™. These applications display viewing target informational content arranged on a screen in a static and planar manner; and in order to view the informational-content items in turn, succeeding subject matter must be displayed by replacing the subject matter being displayed in the active window, or must be displayed by changing the active attribute of windows being displayed on the screen in an overlapping manner.
When a plurality of informational items is displayed by switching from one display to another, the sense of continuity on the screen is lost, leading to the problem of a 25 user having trouble understanding how the individual contents are related to each other.
In order to solve such problems, an information display method has been proposed (Japanese Pat. App. No. 2001-162322 [filed May 30, 2001]; Laid-Open No. 2000-172248) wherein concatenatedly linked data objects are arranged in a three-dimensional virtual space, and based on a visual field defined in the virtual space, the data objects are displayed on a display screen; and wherein information can be perused by following along links while the display screen is changed uninterruptedly by changing the visual field smoothly.
A conventional technique of this sort will be explained using FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a conceptual view of a link structure of concatenatedly linked data objects, and FIG. 6 10 is example displays of the concatenatedly linked data objects.
In FIG. 5, data objects 102 and 103 are represented within data object 101 as links 112 and 113, respectively, and data objects 104 and 105 are represented within data object 102 as links 114 and 115, respectively. Data object 106 is represented within data object 104 as link 116.
In display example 301 at (A) in FIG. 6, data object 101 and data objects 102 and 103 linked to data object 101 are displayed.
When a shift-viewpoint instruction is accepted, the display range is changed according to the instruction, transitioning, for example, to the state shown in display example 302 at (B) in FIG. 6. In this display example 302, data object 101, data object 102 linked to data object 101, and data objects 104 and 105 linked to data object 102 are displayed.
When a further shift-viewpoint instruction is accepted, the state shown in display example 303 at (C) in FIG. 6 ensues. In this display example 303, data object 102, data object 104 linked to data object 102, and data object 106 linked to data object 104 are displayed.
In display examples 301 through 304, the data object that occupies the largest area within the display screen is displayed in detail, and the preceding/following relationships of the data objects are set in correspondence with the link modes and displayed. The fact that the display within the field of view always changes smoothly in response to the shift-viewpoint instructions enables a user to follow the links and view the data objects.
The information display method described above readily enables viewing by following concatenatedly linked information, and enables remedying the problem of losing sight of the interrelationships among the informational-content items. However, this method does not take into consideration such matters as: displaying supplemental information in connection with displayed data objects; displaying information in more detail in connection with displayed data objects; providing means for dialogue with a user in situations where required; or executing application programs linked to the display of information and associated with that information.